Cambridge Cognition Holdings PLC on Tuesday said that a precision neuroscience company that it spun-out from and partly owns has accessed £1.5 million in funding for clinical development of a schizophrenia drug.
The Cambridgeshire, England-based company developing and marketing digital brain health assessment solutions said Monument Therapeutics Ltd has completed a £1.0 million fundraise and announced a further £500,000 grant to fund developing a schizophrenia treatment.
Cambridge Cognition said the additional funds will enable Monument to begin clinical development of MT1988, a novel fixed-dose combination drug for the treatment of cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia.
It noted that MT1988 has shown ‘substantial cognitive improvement’ in pre-clinical studies.
Following the successful fundraise, Monument expects the first clinical trials to begin ‘in the coming weeks’, Cambridge Cognition said. If successful, a phase 2 clinical trial is expected to begin in early 2025.
‘This represents a significant milestone in Monument’s mission to leverage precision medicine to develop effective treatments in psychiatry and neurology. Monument has a pipeline of opportunities within the CNS space each with significant unmet medical need. We are pleased to maintain a substantial holding in the business, which provides upside for Cambridge Cognition given continued success in the future,’ said Cambridge Cognition Chief Executive Officer Matthew Stork.
Monument Therapeutics CEO Jenny Barnett commented: ‘Cognitive impairment is a debilitating symptom of schizophrenia and a major unmet medical need. We are grateful to our investors and to Innovate UK for seeing the value in our development strategy.’
Monument was spun out of Cambridge Cognition in 2021, with the company maintaining a ‘significant’ shareholding, the latter said, although this has been reduced to 25% from 28% as Cambridge Cognition did not participate in the fundraise.
Since then, Cambridge Cognition said Monument has ‘focused on the application of a unique novel drug development strategy, leveraging digital cognitive assessments to match patients with new pharmaceutical treatments’.
Shares in Cambridge Cognition were up 1.7% to 52.88 pence each in London on Tuesday afternoon.
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